Just 2 weeks of mindfulness meditation training help reduce smoking and craving for cigarettes

Results from a study conducted by investigators at the University of Oregon in Eugene showed that integrative body-mind training (IBMT) helped curtail cigarette consumption by up to 60% in smokers who underwent 5 hours of training during a 2-week period. In comparison, a control group who underwent relaxation therapy showed no reduction in smoking. The study was published online August 5 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

One reason for substance abuse and addiction may involve a lack of self-control, which raises the question of whether an intervention to improve self-control could change smoking behavior. Mindfulness training has shown some proof of efficacy in substance abuse, but a lack of adequate control conditions, failure to randomize participants, and a failure to assess biological markers of change have limited the research.

IBMT has been shown to reduce stress, increase positive emotion, and improve attention and self-control after a few hours of practice compared with the same amount of relaxation training.

Wellness Blog:Sangat and smoking

Sewa, Simran and Sangat are the three principles of life as per the most Vedic literature. Even Adi Shankracharya described Sangat as the main force for living a spiritual life.

Sangat is the company of people you live with. Living in the company of good people makes one good and the reverse is also true.

The same is now being proved in the allopathic context. A new research published in the New England Journal of Medicine has shown that when one person quits smoking, than others are likely to follow. One person quitting can cause a ripple effect, making others more likely to kick the habit.

1. If your spouse stops smoking, you're 67 percent less likely to continue smoking.

2. If your friend kicks the habit, it's about 36 percent less likely that you'll be smoking.

3. When a sibling gives up cigarettes, your risk of smoking decreases by 25 percent.

4. It drops by 34 percent if a co-worker in a small office quits smoking. It's sort of like watching dominoes. If one falls, it very quickly causes others to fall.

People are not quitting on their own; they're quitting in droves.

We should treat people in groups, rather than as individuals. Friends and family need to be involved. If you want to quit, try to get close friends and family to quit as well.

Quitting smoking may have the side benefit of improving social well-being, just as it improves physical health. 

AMA Declares Obesity a Disease

Although policies adopted by AMA have no legal standing, decisions are often referenced in influencing governmental bodies. This decision could have implications for provider reimbursement, public policy, patient stigma, and International Classification of Diseases coding.

Obesity is a pathophysiologic disease. There is a treatment for this disease; it involves behavioral modifications, medications and surgeons.

It’s like hypertension. Obesity is a disease. It's very, very, very clear that even though not every hypertensive gets a stroke and not every obese person suffers the complications, this does not change the fact that obesity is a disease.

Others feel that it’s more like smoking. Smoking isn't a disease. Smoking can cause disease such as lung cancer and emphysema in the same way that obesity can lead to diabetes and hypertension.

In other AMA actions, a policy that supports banning the marketing and sale of high-energy drinks to anyone younger than 18 years was adopted.

Also accepted was a policy that supports letting students have sunscreen at school without restrictions.